Bottle lock



I....P. BARLOW 2,072,701

BOTTLE LOCK Filed Aug. 8; 19.34 z Sheet s-Sheet 1 W HI Fig.3,

. INVENTOR l4 TirOR/VE Y Patented Mar. 2, 1937 UNITED sra'rss PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a bottle adapted especially for the marketing of wine, whiskey and other spiritous liquors. It is usable also for the protection of the sale of other commodities of 5 value.

Due to the activity of bootleggers in manufacturing counterfeit bottles, and in utilizing old bottles for refilling purposes, and in draining the contents from bottles containing fine liquors l and substituting therefor cheap liquors, both the Government of the United States and various private parties have for a considerable period been attempting to obtain a bottle which will foil such operations. It is the purpose of my inven- 15 tion to devise a bottle which, while being refillable, is what I term non-repackageable, and to devise a sealing arrangement for the bottle which will be difilcult to counterfeit. In other words, in my invention, not only is the seal difficult to 20 make, but once the bottle is acted upon in a definite manner, it cannot be refilled or repackaged and sold to the public under the guise of being a newly packaged bottle.

My invention is more particularly related to 25 the disclosure of my application, Serial No.

735,560 filed July 17, 1934, and forms a modification of the invention disclosed therein.

In both my first application and in this application, I disclose a bottle in which the upper por- 30 tion of the neck is readily removable at will, thus destroying the original bottle in so far as its general makeup is concerned, while preserving it for use as a container of the opened or unsealed liquor. I realize that the art of bottles with re- 35 movable necks or readily severable necks is highly developed, but I believe that my improvement is entirely novel and forms a worth while contribution to the prior art.

I utilize a bottle having a rather unique form 40 of severable top which is so constructed that it will be shatter-proof and will not fly into small fragments upon being severed from the main portion of the bottle neck. Also, because of its particular construction the upper half of the neck is readily severable when a hard blow is imparted thereto, thus making it comparatively simple to open the bottle.

My invention comprises also means whereby the particular section of the bottle which is severed 50 will be immediately covered upon severance, so that the rough edges thereof will not remain to injure the person handling the bottle thereafter. The particular construction just referred to acts also to maintain the two portions of the neck in 55 a somewhat assembled relation even when the neck is broken by a hard blow, so that the severed portion will not fly off to injure anyone.

My invention also comprises the arrangement of means for cushioning the shock and absorbing any movement of the bottle neck at the time that 5 it is broken. The sealing of the bottle is also rather novel and forms part of this invention.

While I have indicated the general features of my invention, I shall now refer to the drawings wherein I show a particular embodiment of my invention. Fig. 1 is a view of the bottle comprising my invention showing it in its sealed condition. Fig. 2 illustrates the upper portion of the bottle severed therefrom. Fig. 3 illustrates the neck of the bottle remaining after the upper portion is removed therefrom. Fig. 4 is a plan View of a seal utilized in my invention. Fig. 5 is a cross section of the neck of the bottle in Fig. 1 showing the parts in their original condition. Fig. 6 shows what happens when the bottle neck is severed in a normal way. Fig. '7 shows what happens as the bottle neck is removed or when it is severed in a rather hard manner. Fig. 8 illustrates a modification of the invention of Figs. 1 t0 7.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral I0 represents a bottle having a neck H which is divided into a lower portion l2 and an upper portion 13 joined by a section I4 of predetermined strength. This section 14 is preferably of less thickness than the remainder of the neck and is also preferably mutilated as by a diamond scratch on its inside and/or outside surface. The upper portion l3 of the neck is covered by a binding material 15 which is of the type manufactured by the Du Pont Company and is adapted to bind the glass thereto so as to render it non-shatterable. Naturally, my invention contemplates the use of any other of the possible constructions which may be uti- 4.0 lized for shatter proofing the upper portion of the bottle, so that when it is broken as by a hard blow, there will be no fragments flying into space.

A ferrel I6 of annealed glass is secured within the lower and permanent portion 12 of the neck H as by a silica cement I! which has the same characteristics as glass, and cannot be destroyed or removed without the destruction of the glass r of the bottle or the plug. This ferrel I6 is adapted to hold therein a cork l8 as is clearly illustrated. A resilient live rubber collar I9 is adapted to encircle the neck II as illustrated and to be maintained under tension against the neck so as to act as will be indicated later on in the description.

The bottle is sealed by the utilization of a glass sealing plug 20 which is sealed within the bottle by cement of the type utilized to secure the ferrel It. This glass plug 20 is preferably engraved or etched so that it will bear the legend shown in Fig. 4. Actually it is intended to be made under government control and to be used as revenue stamps are used today. Since this plug is permanently secured to the upper portion I3 of the neck H, it can never be removed therefrom and may never be utilized once the bottle is opened.

The action of the construction illustrated in Fig. 5 is best understood by reference to Figs. 6

and 7. In Fig. 6, it is readily seen that when the upper portion it of the neck is struck a blow it will immediately sever along its section M. It will be held in assembled relation tothe remainder of the neck by the covering l9 and the shock of the blow will be absorbed by the cork member l8. Should the blow be struck more severely as in Fig. '7, the cork [8 will be called on to absorb even more of the blow. Fig. 7, also illustrates just how the sleeve I9 reacts in immediately covering the severed section 14 of the bottle so as to prevent injury to the user of the bottle. Fig. 3 illustrates just how the sleeve 19 wraps itself over the section I4 to not only cover that section but also to preserve the appearance 'of the bottle so that it may be used as a container of the liquor. Fig. 2 illustrates the severed portion of the neck which is thrown away.

Fig. 8 illustrates a modification of the invention described in the previous figures. A cork ferrel 25 is utilized and is merely forced into the lower half .12 of the neck H. Instead of a cork stopper, a hard porcelain stopper 26 is utilized and this stopper is preferably equipped with a resilient shock absorbingv member 21, although that is not entirely necessary. When a blow is struck against the upper half l3 of the neck of the bottle, the shock of the blow will be absorbed by the ferrel 25 rather than the stopper member 26. Should the blow be extremely severe, naturally the resilient member 21 will be required to take up much of the blow.

In this modification the shatter proofing material I5 extends downwardly so as to cover the entire neck of the bottle. Preferably this material is severed after application along a line l4 opposite the diamond scratch line on the special section l4, and in .this way assists in the proper severance of the bottle neck.

In Fig. 8, the neck of the bottle I3 is shown as ground out as at 28 to help in securing the plug member 23 within the'neck. Preferably also, the inside of the upper neck portion I3 is tapered downward and the plug member is correspondingly tapered and may be inserted to the proper depth and then sealed by the cement 29 which is of the same character as the cement l1 utilized in the modification of Figs. 5, 6 and 7. Because of the tapering relation of the plug 20 and the bottle neck, it is unnecessary to grind both the neck and the plug. It is quite readily understood that the plug will descend the proper depth and then will be seated in the neck.

From the description indicated, it is readily seen that in my bottle, the rubber member l9 acts as a uniting member for the two halves of the neck when the upper half is severed along its predetermined section M. It is also readily seen that the rubber member I!) acts to wipe over and cover the severed section I 4 so as to protect the user of the bottle against injury. It is also seen that the cork member [8 in the modification of Fig. 6 acts as a shock absorbing member while in Fig. 8, the ferrel itself acts as a shock absorbing member. The sealing of the plug member relatively to the upper half of the neck is substantially similar to that disclosed in my application referred to supra except that herein I contribute the feature of the tapered neck and the tapered plug member.

While I have disclosed a particular modification of the invention, it should be understood that I consider the various features especially emphasized to be of considerable value and to perform a valuable and real contribution tothis art. I therefore feel myself entitled to a rather broad monopoly along the lines set forth in the claims appended hereto.

I claim.

1. In a bottle of the class described, a neck arranged to be severed along a predetermined section, the portion of the neck above said section being bound by a shatter proofing, covering whereby it may be struck when it is desired to sever the neck, without the attendant danger of flying glass particles, and a covering element maintained in position to slip over the severed section of the remaining neck so as to protect the user of the bottle against injury.

2. In a bottle of the class described, a neck arranged to be severed along a predetermined section, the outside of the neck above said predetermined section being bound by a covering of shatter proofing material whereby said upper neck portion may be struck to sever it from the lower portion of the neck, without the attendant danger of flying glass particles. 7

3. In a bottle of the class described, a neck arranged to be severed along a predetermined specially prepared section, the outside of the neck above said predetermined section being bound by a covering of shatter proofing material whereby said upper neck portion may be struck to sever it from the lower portion of the neck, without the attendant danger of flying glass particles.

4. In a bottle of the class described, a neck arranged to be severed along a predetermined section, the outside of the neck beingbound by a covering of shatter proofing material whereby said neck portion may be struck to sever it along said predetermined section without the attendant danger of flying glass particles, said covering being severed circumferentially opposite said predetermined section so as to assist in the proper severance of the bottle neck.

LESTER P. BARLOW. 

